yay, good for you!i also can't smoke when i drink. i drink too much, and i like to smoke too much. can't do it.i also knit like mad, even now years later. i fidget and i don't watch things that make me jonesy (Schindler's List must have been the worst!). it's not fair to put yourself in that sort of situation.and if i have to, i flee. I had a moment of temptation a few years ago when I was with a client in a cigar bar after doing a book deal (! my old favorite place to buy cigarettes in new york! and i used to love cigars!) and he gave me a cigar and said "you have to have one to celebrate with me" and the world stopped for a moment...... i had to excuse myself and leave. i don't put myself in situations like that anymore, if i were in AA i wouldn't spend time in a bar, and nobody would expect me to. Be fair to yourself.

I had decided, after a run during which I could not breathe, that I needed to finally bite the bullet and quit for real. I cut back to only smoking when I drink about 8 months ago, but when I drink it's like no holds barred, whatever, smoke smoke smoke. So I went 2 weeks...and then Mad Men started...and I was weak. Then I went a week again, and then this crazy shiitake happened with my ex... I feel so dumb and awful. I know a lot of people have said that they have had to quit drinking for awhile in order to quit smoking, but I don't wanna do that? Is that terrible?

The drinking was TOUGH when I quit smoking. This was before ecigarettes or whatever those things are, but I did buy something that was supposed to mimic a cigarette but had no tobacco, no smoke. My husband thought they were dumb bit I pretty much ended up using it as something to chew on when drinking and the temptation to really rough. I'm sure my dentist would cringe. But then after a few weekends of social drinking, it got better and I didn't need those plastic cigarettes anymore. So, if you don't choose to quit drinking too you might either find something else to distract you like the dumb plastic cigarettes or just try to hang tough and know some stranger on the interwebz supports you and tells you that she found it got easier.

Since you mentioned running, one thing that really did help me was taking a lot of walks and then working in some running. I felt that a) the walks would take my mind off of it because I was doing something and staying busy. Obviously not practical 100% of the time, but I found that next to drinking, being home and idle was the next biggest temptation. And b) walking/running and then running gave me something to look forward to and some motivation in terms of "I want tomorrow's run to be good, and if I smoke I know I feel like shiitake."

You can do it! You just have to figure out the little life tweaks that will work for you, because everyone is different.

I did pretty good, then smoked another cigarette today. I think I will just make the commitment not to smoke again for the rest of the month, and then hopefully it will be okay to stick with. I am definitely going to start running again - it's such a good way to connect with your body and deal with cigarette cravings. I'm trying to cut down my drinking by quite a lot as well (I usually drink 2-3 drinks per day-ish), because I want to get a bit more into shape and I have some health problems that I am pretty sure can be solved by drinking less and working out 3 times a week. So, yeah. That's where I am now! AP and AH, keep up the good work! Cigarettes are gross. Have you guys ever tried cold showers for intense cravings? I swear it works! That and dark, bitter coffee! And orange juice!

I was a 2 pack a day smoker from about 14-24 years old. Then my mother passed from lung cancer. I don't think I bought a pack after that, but still smoked off and on for the last 10 years. Especially when drinking/clubbing etc. Also, my partner smokes..a LOT. So hard to not smoke when he is puffing in your face at a crowded bar and you are 2 vodka's in :(

So, he switched to e-cigs. Helped him a lot. Quit about 90%

I was still breaking down and having a smoke or 2 when I was at a work event or out with friends. Feeling like absolute shiitake in the morning.

Finally, I bought a couple of disposable e-cig's and take them with me when I go out. NO MORE SMOKING. Just a couple of puffs on those. I feel so much better now! I should have done that a lot sooner, but I wasn't a 'smoker' really...at least that was my mindset.

Yeah, I know they are still addictive. But hell, it's gotta be better than really smoking right? Also, I don't smoke those nearly as much as real cigs. I only need a couple of pulls and I am satisfied. I have had 2 disposable ones for like 3 weeks now...and that includes a vegas trip. I sure as hell feel better now too, even as an occasional smoker.

I can't believe that I was still smoking after I lost a parent to lung cancer, and a grandmother to emphysema.

I have fallen totally back to my old, smoking ways. And I can feel it in my lungs and my general well being. UGH. Right now I am in a super super stressed situation with 10 hours of french every day, but it will be over soon and then the nicotine gum is waiting! I have 4 weeks until i start my new education, and I am going to be past my 3 weeks of grumpiness by then. HOPEFULLY. Stupid stupid stupid cigarettes and feeling all "it's summer, i can smoke a little"!

I couldn't deal with the stress of my six year old dog getting incurable cancer and when I got this news in late May I started vaping 6 years after quitting smoking. During those 6 years I never smoked once -- through the first death of a grandparent, grad school, getting and losing jobs...but this was just too much to handle. It's only 6mg and I'd like to think it's healthier than smoking since it's mostly water and vg/pg and I think just one other thing, but I'd like to stop because I don't like being addicted to anything. It's definitely a mental addiction, not a physical one. I still wouldn't smoke a cigarette though, at least that's something.

It's easy now. I have a hard craving about once every two days but it only lasts a minute or so.

I've "quit" at least 10 times in my life. I've learned from my failed attempts. The biggest thing I learned is that I can NEVER cheat. This is the first time I quit were I didn't sneak a drag from a friend or smoke "just one" at the bar.

Soooo...I "quit" smoking a long while ago, then had started again but didn't tell anybody, so then when I quit the second time I couldn't tell anybody because nobody knew I had started again in the first place. It's been a few years since I last smoked at all, though. Why do I still want to do it so much? It's so unfair. I feel like I cursed myself for life with this. Am I really going to spend the rest of my life talking myself out of lighting up again? Seriously, it's been years now and it hasn't gotten any easier.

If I could go back and undo anything I've ever done in my life, it would be smoking that first cigarette. That was by far the worst choice I have ever made, and I've made a lot of really stupid choices in my life. I would be so much better off in life if I didn't know just how effective smoking is for relieving stress. I haven't found anything else that's as effective as that, and believe me, I've tried pretty much everything that's safe and legal to try. UGH.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

I smoked a cigarette about a month ago and ever since I've been craving them. It's stress relief, it's an appetite suppressant, it's so appealing to me right now. The main thing stopping me is the smell - I would smell gross again and also everyone would know I was smoking again and I'd feel like a failure.

CQ I also regret ever having smoked.

_________________If a milkshake is going to change the world then it should be at least be an Oreo one. - daisychain

The really annoying part about the fact that I was smoking again for a while is that now I know that I can actually get away with doing it and have nobody know. And I'm embarrassed to ask people for support in any way because I never told anybody I had started smoking again in the first place. I mean, it really has been years now and I shouldn't need to have other people high-fiving me for quitting smoking when it's been that long since I've even smoked at all! But there are still just so many days when I feel like it's a huge accomplishment that I didn't go buy cigarettes again. It feels crazy, like, it was sooooo easy for me to go vegan and commit to never eating animal products again, I hardly ever even think about doing that and I can't imagine I ever would, but when it comes to cigarettes I feel like I'm always just a hair away from relapsing no matter how long it's been.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

I'm with you guys on the whole "wish I'd never smoked that first cigarette"-thing. I'm 24, and I've been a 20 cigs a day smoker for 12 YEARS. Half my life! I can't even imagine how much healthier I'd be if I never smoked.

Today is the first day of 2014 and I promised myself that I will quit smoking today. So far so good, I have nicotine gum if I really need it and I know I can quit, because I've done it before. Venturing out in a little while to go to a vernissage with a few friends, and hoping I can distract myself from it. For me, how much money I save by not smoking is a HUGE reason not to smoke, so I've promised myself that I'll spend the money I save on other awesome things for myself. I just ordered two new shirts and a dress for my January-money because then I HAVE to quit, considering I won't have money for cigarettes. It's like the health aspects are just too abstract for me to take seriously even though I want to.

I promised myself that when I'm past the 3 week mark, I'll start saving money every month to travel to Paris, Nice and Berlin. THAT should be a good enough reason to quit :)

I will probably come in here and whine often in the next few weeks. Oh, and something I've noticed helps with the cravings: espressos! And salty licorice.

You can do it smoothie! One day at a time, and yes, I think its a great idea to give yourself little rewards along the way. That's what my husband and I did when we quit, and it helped to have a fun goal to look forward to. The gum helped me as well, along with telling EVERYBODY I was quitting. I'm pretty goal-oriented and competitive with myself, so I knew I did not want to say "no, I slipped" when my boss asked me every morning how the no-smoking was going. So, willful stubborn pride helped me :)

I've not managed to quit, but I've managed to cut down to a few at evening with not a lot of trouble, so I'm going to cut it down to just one at night, and then change the cigarette to a piece of nicotine gum.. I am starting school again monday, and considering how stressful that is, I am going to need all the stubbornness I can manage.

Okay, I am totally sucking at this. Have any of you tried e-cigarettes? I am seriously considering getting one. I am thinking about getting one and just buying the 6 mg nicotine "juice" and then buying a few without nicotine and see if I can cut down my nicotine intake with the first bottle of "juice" and then just smoking the nicotine free "juice" until I've gone through the 3 weeks of nicotine withdrawals and then quit that.

I've always had more time and energy when I've quit smoking before, but I'm running on 10-12 hour days most days right now and that's how it will be until late june. So I can't imagine that I can just quit cold turkey..

I used the patch, I definitely don't think quitting cold turkey works very well because it's not just the physical addiction you're trying to break, it's the habits. Like what the fork do you do with your hands? When I was quitting, I would automatically get fidgety at normal break time at work because my brain was like, "Hey, it's time to go smoke!" I used to walk around downtown and smoke for 15 minutes twice a day, so for awhile I had to stop leaving the building for breaks because walking made me want to smoke. I couldn't go to bars for awhile. I spent a lot of time tapping pencils like a crazy person.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

I haven't tried e-cigs myself, but I think they are a great idea to help people. Watching my dad try to quit when I was younger and the weird things he tried to use in place of cigarettes makes me think they would have really helped him. As MBM said, it's not just the nicotine people get addicted to, it's all the habits you develop. I know people who had to quit drinking coffee because the urge to smoke with it was just too strong.

I think Nicorette does a puffer type thing that might be cheaper than true e-cigs since it doesn't make the "smoke" the e-cigs do? Might be worth looking in to.

_________________Anyone for some German Shepherd Pie? - daisychainWell! Fruit is stupid! These onions taste nothing like fruit! - allularpunkDwarf-tossing for God: A Story of Hope - Invictus